Coombe Hill Nature Reserve

The canal was authorised by the Leigh and Deerhurst Canal Act 1792 (32 Geo. 3. c. 83) and was probably open in 1796. The cost of construction was about £5,000 and the completed canal could take barges of 60-70 tons. It was meant to carry goods to Cheltenham but the local geography made that impossible. There was a gap of nearly five miles between the canal and the town, so the canal was not as useful as it might have been. In 1810 the canal was leased to a group of three men for £400 per annum. In 1822 the canal was leased to a number of committeemen from the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. In 1829 they renewed their lease for another 21 years at £500 per year and in 1844 offered to buy the…

|coordinates = |area=20.16 hectare |notifydate=1954 |enref=1000789 }} Fuller information is provided in the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves handbook. The canal was built to link the Forest of Dean coalfields with Cheltenham via the Severn, but competition and other reasons led to its closure. The trust has carried out management work with aid of Severn Trent Water and the then Nature Conservancy Council to restore the derelict canal. The nature reserve has two wooden bird hides, Teal and Wigeon (formally Grundon). Wigeon hide is on the canal side of the reserve and accessed via a raised walkway. Teal hide is on the northern side of the reserve and accessed through fields…